At home plugged into 50amp found the chassis batteries low. Checked the electrical bay to see if I had power to the coach, all good. But noticed a solenoid humming and a clicking sound. Silence the it would hum and click again.
Volt meter showed batteries at 10 volts.
Put a charger on the batteries and after a while I noticed the above solenoid was not cycling. With a 2amp charge after about 30 minutes I could hear the battery acid boiling so I disconnected the charger. When I checked the voltage again several times over the next 30 minutes the batteries were just over 13 volts. So I assumed my Trace Engineering Inverter/charger decided to charge the batteries.
That’s when I noticed the charger LED flashing red continues. The manual says 7 or more flashes consult factory. I think Trace is out of business?
So called in for dinner. Went back out an hour later, batteries voltage back down, not being charger from the Trace inverter/charger.
The batteries are 4 1/2 years old.
Is their an isolator for the chassis batteries that the alternator and inverter/charger are connected to before connecting to the batteries?
Anyone have a schematic for this 19 year old coach?
iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
Every coach I have owned did not charge the chassis batteries from the inverter/charger. There was always a Trick-L-Start (5amp), Amp-L-Start (15amp)or now a Magnum Smart Battery Combiner (25amp). They all transfer power from the house batteries being charged when the voltage is above a set point. When those went bad, the chassis battery voltage would drop until the engine started or another charging source was hooked up. Under normal conditions, a 2 amp charger would only maintain a charger battery. It would take days to charge a discharged battery.
__________________
2006 Monaco Executive 44 Denali
2013 43 QGP Allegro Bus ( SOLD )
2013 Avalanche
That relay looks like a battery combiner to me. If the chassis used to charge but not now, its common for the relay contacts to burn and not tie the house/chassis banks together thus not charging both banks.
If contacts are good but its not staying engaged, there could be loose or corroded wiring from the relay controller (BIRD,IRD ect) or controller is bad or relay coil is going bad.
Some controllers only apply full +12v to the relays coil to pull it in then changes to a lower voltage / square wave. If I remember correctly a voltmeter will read only a few volts across relay coil wiring once its engaged.
__________________
1998 HR Endeavor Cummins ISB 275 / Banks Allison 3060
20014Jeep Wrangler JKUR with M&G air brake with breakaway
Every coach I have owned did not charge the chassis batteries from the inverter/charger. There was always a Trick-L-Start (5amp), Amp-L-Start (15amp)or now a Magnum Smart Battery Combiner (25amp). They all transfer power from the house batteries being charged when the voltage is above a set point. When those went bad, the chassis battery voltage would drop until the engine started or another charging source was hooked up. Under normal conditions, a 2 amp charger would only maintain a charger battery. It would take days to charge a discharged battery.
Thousands of MHs use BIRDs or now BIMs, the first letter meaning bi-directional.
This topic is a good candidate for a sticky maybe. Some folks opt to replace the older technology (the bird or solenoid), some use an additional charging device, some opt for a VSR.
Question DJJ, when you indicate "2003 Dutch Star, Freightliner XC chassis.
At home plugged into 50amp found the chassis batteries low." do you mean the two starting batteries, or the 4/6 house batteries?
__________________ Good Luck, Be Safe and Above All, Don't Forget To Have Fun Pete
Central Kentucky
2006 Fleetwood Discovery 35H, 2014 Honda CR-V, M&G Engineering Braking System
Thousands of MHs use BIRDs or now BIMs, the first letter meaning bi-directional.
Even my cheap Thor has a BIM.
Good to know. Mine was a 2013, but I've sold it . If I get the urge to have another coach, has the BIRD come available in the last 10 years or has it been around longer?
__________________
2006 Monaco Executive 44 Denali
2013 43 QGP Allegro Bus ( SOLD )
2013 Avalanche
__________________ Good Luck, Be Safe and Above All, Don't Forget To Have Fun Pete
Central Kentucky
2006 Fleetwood Discovery 35H, 2014 Honda CR-V, M&G Engineering Braking System
"DJJ".....Not until sometime after 2005 did MOST RV manufacturers start wiring the charging systems to charge the chassis batteries while on Shore Power. Prior to that, while plugged into shore power, most would see their chassis batteries go dead in about two weeks.
You don't say if this is a new to you coach or a new issue. I think you have two problems. First, your batteries are probably toast from being allowed to go dead repeatedly, plus age. The second issue is that your coach was NOT designed to charge the chassis batteries while plugged into shore power.
The solution.....there are 3-4 companies that make a simple system that uses a few easily installed wires to charge the chassis batteries while on shore power.
OK ; first if your batteries were boiling with a 2 amp charge , that's part of the issue
Does the rest of the area close to the solenoid you posted the photo of look like this ; photo below ?
The bird system won't start charging the chassis battery from shore power unless the coach batteries are being charged & holding stable , above a certain rate .
__________________
99DSDP 3884, Freightliner, XC, CAT 3126B, 300 HP /ALLISON 3060
2000 Caravan toad, Remco & Blue Ox.
Yes, found out I have the Bi-directional isolator relay delay system. Read up on it this morning and on my Trace inverter/ charger.
The red light flashing turns out to be orange and was indicating it was in absorption cycle.
Replaced the chassis/starting batteries and everything is back to normal.
One of the starting batteries when disconnected was at 7 volts and the other at 10 volts and pretty warm. With new batteries installed, I could see with the volt meter, the inverter go into absorption stage 14.4 volts and then go into float voltage 13.5 volts on the chassis batteries and also on the house batteries.
9 years with this RV, I guess it was time to figure out this system. Thanks again for everyone’s help.
[QUOTE=Dutch Star Don;6316476]"DJJ".....Not until sometime after 2005 did MOST RV manufacturers start wiring the charging systems to charge the chassis batteries while on Shore Power. Prior to that, while plugged into shore power, most would see their chassis batteries go dead in about two weeks.
Hey Don FYI: my old 1998 HR has a factory Installed BIRD, I guess I got lucky!
__________________
1998 HR Endeavor Cummins ISB 275 / Banks Allison 3060
20014Jeep Wrangler JKUR with M&G air brake with breakaway